Parque Nacional Isla Magdalena, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: From Puerto Cisnes (by boat only)

Isla Magdalena’s rugged landscapes, deep ravines, and coastal bluffs make it an ideal environment for species such as Penguins, Cormorants, Sea Lions, and Huillines (Southern River Otters).

Situated between the Chilean continent and the Guaitecas Archipelago, in Río Cisnes, Isla Magdalena is one of the largest islands to the south of Chiloé. 80% of its surface is protected land. At the center of the island, the peak of Mentolat Volcano stretches 5,446 feet above sea level amongst the exuberant flora of the northern Patagonia cordillera.

Parque Nacional Melimoyu, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: From Puerto Raul Marin Balmaceda (sea navigation required)

Along Melimoyu’s coasts, the Blue Whales are the protagonists. It’s estimated that 10% of the world’s population of cetaceans migrate to the Corcovado Gulf during the Southern Hemisphere summer to feed on Krill.

Dozens of rivers flow from the area’s glaciers into its channels and fjords, bringing organic material from the forests and bogs and giving life to an aquatic ecosystem rich with biodiversity where an abundance of wildlife makes its home.

This pristine habitat in Cisnes features incredible landscapes dominated by the imposing Melimoyu Volcano (which means “four pieces” in Mapudungún). It was once considered to be a possible entry point to the mythical, and perhaps enchanted, City of the Caesars.

Parque Nacional Queulat, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Queulat (south of Puyuhuapi)

Queulat means “Sound of Waterfalls” in the Chono people’s language. This park was first seen in the eighteenth century by Jesuits searching for the mythical City of the Caesars. Today, Queulat National Park, near Puyuhuapi, is admired by thousands of visitors each year, who are attracted by its beautiful evergreen and Andean Patagonian forests, its waterfalls, fjords, jagged rock walls, abundant rivers, and famous hanging glacier or “Ventisquero Colgante”, which can be spotted from the Carretera Austral.

Parque Nacional Corcovado, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Chaiten

The magnificent Corcovado Volcano stands 7,546 feet above sea level, welcoming visitors to this difficult-to-access, pristine ecosystem of evergreen forests, fjords, bays, rivers, deep valleys, and dozens of hidden lakes.

The park was created thanks to Tompkins Conservation’s generous donation of more than 207,570 acres and to the incorporation of national parklands. It features vast expanses of untouched, unexplored land, including hidden corners of the Corcovado Golf and Tic Toc Bay, in Chaitén.

Parque Nacional Pumalin, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Caleta Gonzalo

The deep forests of Pumalín reach all the way to the fjords, creating one of the most spectacular coastlines on the planet. Hundreds of waterfalls cascade down from glaciers, falling over steep granite walls, as the Michinmahuida and Chaitén. Volcanoes crown the landscape.

The park’s most notable feature is the threatened Alerce (Fitzroya) tree––25 percent of Chile’s remaining Alerces can be found in this National Park. These ancient trees’ 3,000 years of life help to tell a timeless story of this pristine ecosystem, tucked in the Palena Province.

Parque Nacional Hornopiren, Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Hornopiren

Hornopirén National Park, (means “snow oven” in Mapudungún), forms part of the regional ecosystem of evergreen temperate rainforests. It is known for its rich biodiversity, high levels of endemic species, and thousands-of-years-old trees. This park is part of the World Biosphere Reserve of Temperate Rainforests of the Austral Andes. It features nearly 22,240 acres of Alerce trees.

The Hornopirén Volcano, although not within park limits, crowns this landscape of mountain valleys sculpted by snowdrifts, lakes, lagoons, and rivers such as the Puelo Chico, the Ventisquero, and the Blanco, which flows into the Comau Fjord, in Huailahué.

Parque Nacional Alerce Andino Carretera Austral, Patagonia, Chile

Introduction

Access: Puerto Montt

The trees of Alerce Andino National Park come from an old and storied lineage. This regional ecosystem remained isolated from the glaciers that covered the area 12 thousand years ago.

Today, its forests are a global icon of endemic fauna––one in three species in this forest is not found anywhere else on the planet. Vertical walls of granite surround the park’s fifty or so lagoons, and its rugged geography has long protected millennia-old Alerce (Fitzroya) trees that grow over more than half of the park’s surface. This priceless ecosystem can be found south of Lake Chapo and is classified as a Biosphere.